Stan Against Evil: Should Denise Go To The Vampire Junior Prom With McLovin?

It has been said that every generation gets the vampires they deserve. Do you want Ingrid Pitt in a Hammer film, Tom Cruise in a velvet cape, or Robert Pattison in high school? For Denise, it’s the latter.

Episode 6 of season 3 takes us to the titular “Vampire Creek,” a teen soap with fangs that both Denise and Evie are binging. In it, vampire Zack (special guest Christopher Mintz-Plasse) plays a romantic bloodsucker pining for his love. Stan interrupts their viewing party, only to himself be interrupted by the delivery of a package for Denise. She’s won a slashfic contest, and her prize-winning story title as well the ensuing explanation of slashfic to Evie are highlights of the episode. Her trophy is a large antique mirror, Nothing suspicious there.

From here, the episode picks up speed as the cursed mirror transports Denise into the world of Vampire Creek, where Zack wants her to choose immortality as a vampire by his side. She asks for a trial period and agrees to attend Vampire Junior Prom with Zack. Stan, Evie, and Kevin follow her into the mirror, and we’re treated to vampire versions our heroes. We also get a real gem of a vomit/hangover scene as Vampire Evie gets drunk on blood punch at Vampire Junior Prom.

I’m just going to try and type Vampire Junior Prom as often as I can, because the entire idea of it is funny to me. Watching drunk Vampire Evie mock the other undead (“Bart? Your name sounds like Fart”) was priceless, but even better was Zack in his attempts to navigate the wilds of Denise’s heart. She’s clearly weirder than he banked on, and it’s great seeing her from an outsider’s perspective.

The interplay between the main cast was quick, and the jokes went to the back corners of the scenes, quite literally – the “I’m Homeless – Change My Mind” sign a character holds in the background of a transition scene cracked me up. The episode is full of little gags. I especially loved Vampire Evie’s jealousy toward Denise in the mirror world, as Zack courts Denise.

While I’m not a Twilight fan, I did appreciate the sparkling deaths of the vamps this episode.

Generally, I’m most excited to see “season arc” episodes, and am glad to see us further the Haurus, Duquette, or Eccles plotlines each week. These standalone episodes, however, take great advantage of the show’s “magic-evil” framework to drop straight into absurdly fun stories. Vampire Creek is a perfect example, using the Stan Against Evil set up to deliver a great riff on vampires and teen drama all at once. Somebody better tell Fart!

Les Weiler enjoys television to a stunning degree, along with various movies of questionable cultural value. His 90s college education left him woefully unprepared for the real job of the future: curating a profitable social media presence. The last video game he played well was Goldeneye. He can be heard on The TV Dudes podcast, The Good Die Young podcast, and elsewhere.